Chennai is where you should be between January 8-12, as the next edition of the annual cultural event, IIT, Saarang, is set to begin. An event that sees more than 1,000 people from different parts of the country, this year has an exciting line up. With a classical night that sees violinist Ganesh-Kumaresh and a performance by Sonal Mansingh, there is also the signature choreo night on January 9, and an EDM night by Sunburn headlining duo, Lost Stories and Anish Sood, on January 10. American band, Architect, will perform on January 11, followed by the popular night with singers Salim-Sulaiman, on January 12.

Violinists Ganesh-Kumaresh talk to us about being part of the festival:
“This is the fifth time we are performing at the festival. It has become more like a tradition now. We have performed at several engineering colleges. The first thing we do is create a rapport with the students. It is not the intellectual sabha crowd, so we try to connect with students, who belong to a different kind of crowd,” says Ganesh who, along with his brother, had close to five performances this December. The duo have been performing since the age of 10 and have evolved over the years. “A few years ago, there was no demarcation between vocalists and instrumentalists, which has come about now. People’s perception about music has changed and their awareness about popular music has increased amongst the urban crowd. To my surprise, even the old timers’ perception has changed,” he says.